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All posts for the month February, 2015

Lillie Hitchcock Coit, 1862Coit left one-third of her estate to the City of San Francisco “to be expended in an appropriate manner for the purpose of adding to the beauty of the city which I have always loved”.[1] The city used this bequest to build Coit Tower on Telegraph Hill.

allstaractivist note: My Mom and I were back in San Francisco this past Monday for my monthly room inspection and pest control spraying. We got there early and were driving around California street headed to Little Italy when I spotted the tower and suggested we try to go and see it. We drove around some of the steepest hills people are crazy enough to build upon, to no avail. We only found steps leading to the tower that seemed to go on for infinity. My Mom is eighty, about fifty steps is her limit. We spotted another elderly lady standing on the corner and in typical native San Franciscan spirit, she gave us impeccable directions with the order to enjoy ourselves. “Yes they have parking under the tower.” “Go on up there and see it, you’ll enjoy yourselves!” Thanks to her dead reckoning, we found our way there and below are the scenic views we were rewarded with. Neither I nor my Mom had ever been to Coit Tower, now we both can scratch that off our bucket list.

We didn’t actually go up the tower, that would have cost $11 we didn’t have. It is $5 for seniors and $6 for San Francisco residents, which I am. On Wednesdays and Saturdays we were informed that there was a guided tour complete with full narratives for the murals. They are very interesting murals and not painted by Diego Rivera as I had come to believe, but by government subsidized (Public Works Of Art Project) local artists during the Great Depression. The lobby attendant explained that the artists had been heavily influenced by Diego and chose to paint the murals in his style. Mom and I plan to go back when they are giving the free tour and then pay the elevator fee to go up as well. Visiting the lobby, murals and grounds are free, seven days a week.

I did find it interesting that there were embossed fascist reed bundles flanking both sides above the front entrance. I wonder what the political climate was back then in 1933 America? Probably very close to the way things seem to be headed today. Hmmm…

Round and round go 2,000 visitors a day at Coit Tower, marveling at the first-floor murals and walking by a double door that leads to the murals no one ever sees.

These are the unknown upstairs wall paintings that start with a panorama of Powell Street, climbing the hill as the viewer climbs the steps, and end with a bright painting of domestic life that gets its own little room to wrap around.

“The second-floor murals have been largely closed off to the public,” says Jon Golinger of Protect Coit Tower, an advocacy group. “Most San Franciscans and most visitors don’t even know they are there.”

For most of the 80-year history of the murals, the second floor has been kept secret because the stairway is narrow and the viewing space is extremely tight. The first floor has the rotunda to handle the crowds. The second floor is only as wide as the tower itself, and the seven murals are mostly pressed together at the landing.

The unifying theme is recreation, as opposed to the first-floor theme, which is industry and commerce, depicted by people grim with purpose, trying to make their way amid the struggle and strife of the Great Depression.

Because all 27 Coit Tower murals were painted at the same time, in 1934, they presumably were meant to be seen as a whole. Now that all the murals have undergone the most intensive restoration in their history, an effort is being made to get people up there, but only in groups of four to eight, and only as part of a docent tour.

This can be done either through City Guides, which offers free tours of all the murals on Wednesdays or Saturdays, or through the vendor, Coit Tower Tours, which includes a docent tour of all the murals, for $7 a person. The second-floor tour takes about 15 minutes, which is too short for Golinger.

“I’ve been up here for at least an hour at a time,” he says. “Every time you look at the murals you find something new.”

Studied up close

They can only be studied up close, which has a sudden impact when the double door opens to “Powell Street,” by Lucien Labaudt. The mural runs up both sides of the stairway, like both sides of the street, and as you climb the stairs, people climb Powell alongside the cable car.

“The stairway mural is superb; it is one of the all-time best within the tower,” says Anne Rosenthal, an arts conservator who led the restoration of the murals, a yearlong $500,000 project overseen by the San Francisco Arts Commission, guardian of the tower murals.

At the top of the stairs are two murals that bump into each other. One is “Sports” by Edward Takeo Terada, and the other is “Collegiate Sports” by Parker Hall, which includes a Big Game picture above and around the exit.

“I love that portion,” says Rosenthal. “It is very creative the way that center is straddled over the stairway.”

The marquee mural is “Home Life,’ by Jane Berlandina, a French artist married to Henry Howard, one of the architects for the tower. “Home Life” is the only mural at Coit that is a tempera painting, with egg yolk mixed into the pigment, and it is the only mural at Coit that had never been restored.

It took two conservators three weeks to fix the scratches and divots before it was dry-cleaned like the others.

“When I came into this room three years ago, it had the worst damage of them all,” Golinger says. “It had chips and gashes. Now every visitor I see walk into this room goes ‘wowm’ and their eyes pop open.”

Natural light

The room is flooded with natural light that brings up the yellows and reds. Berlandina also did sets for the San Francisco Opera, and this little room is a set of its own, with curtains drawn over the doorways.

Surrounding the viewer are a mom rolling out piecrust with her daughters, people in formal wear dancing to a piano/guitar duo, adults playing cards at a table, and a dad reading the newspaper in an easy chair.

“This mural really jumps out,” says Golinger, an attorney who lives in North Beach. “It’s a much more upbeat version of life in 1934. It seems almost as if all is well in the world.”

If you are up there at the right time, you can see staff coming out a door, beneath Ben Cunningham’s “Outdoor Life.” This is something else as unknown as the second-floor murals: the long-rumored Coit Tower caretaker’s apartment, now converted to an office.

Coit Tower, a slender white concrete column rising from the top of Telegraph Hill, has been an emblem of San Francisco’s skyline since its completion in 1933, a welcoming beacon to visitors and residents alike. Its observation deck, reached by elevator (tickets can be purchased in the gift shop), provides 360-degree views of the city and bay, including the Golden Gate and Bay bridges.

The simple fluted tower is named for Lillie Hitchcock Coit, a wealthy eccentric and patron of the city’s firefighters. Coit died in 1929, leaving a substantial bequest “for the purpose of adding to the beauty of the city I have always loved.” The funds were used to build both the tower and a monument to Coit’s beloved volunteer firefighters, in nearby Washington Square. The tower was designed by the firm of Arthur Brown, Jr., architect of San Francisco’s City Hall. Contrary to popular belief, Coit Tower was not designed to resemble a firehose nozzle.

The murals inside the tower’s base were painted in 1934 by a group of artists employed by the Public Works of Art Project, a precursor to the Works Progress Administration (WPA), and depict life in California during the Depression. When violence broke out during the 1934 longshoremen’s strike, controversy over the radical content in some of the panels became quite heated. Some of the most controversial elements were painted over, and the tower was padlocked for several months before the frescoes were finally opened to the public in the fall of 1934.

Telegraph Hill takes its name from a semaphore telegraph erected on its summit in 1850 to alert residents to the arrival of ships. Pioneer Park, which surrounds Coit Tower, was established in 1876 on the former site of the telegraph station. As you wander the trails that wind around the tower and down the hill, you may hear the raucous chatter of the neighborhood’s most famous (and noisiest) residents, the flock of parrots featured in the 2005 film “The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill.”

COIT TOWER DETAILS

Hours

10am-6pm May through October and 10am-5pm November through April.

Holiday closures

Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, New Year’s Day

Guided Tours

Docent tours are available to visitors with a complete tour of the Tower including the murals. The tours are limited to an eight (8) person maximum. The length of the tour is about 30 – 40 minutes. Visitors will learn about the Tower’s inception, the Public Work of Art Projects’ influence, and history of the twenty-six artists. A $7 fee will be charged for tours of the murals. Please visit coittowertours.com for more information.

Elevator Entrance Fees

Please note that parking at the tower is very limited, and at peak times the line of cars waiting to reach the lot can be very long. Muni’s #39 Coit bus travels between Coit Tower and Fisherman’s Wharf. For a scenic hike to the tower, climb Telegraph Hill’s eastern slope via the Filbert Street stairs, which pass through the Grace Marchant Garden, or the Greenwich Street stairs.

Lillie Hitchcock CoitAugust 23, 1843 – July 22, 1929

One of the most unusual personalities ever connected with our Fire Department was a woman. She was Lillie Hitchcock Coit, who was destined not only to become a legend but to attain that eminence long before her life ended.

She came to this city on the ship Tennessee in 1851 from West Point, where her father, Dr. Charles M. Hitchcock, was stationed. Dr. Hitchcock served in the U.S. Army during the Indian Wars. During the Mexican War he performed a splendid piece of surgery on Colonel Jefferson Davis, saving his leg. Davis went on to be U.S. Secretary of War and President of the Confederacy.

Seven years later, when only 15 years old, she began her famous career with Knickerbocker Engine Company No. 5. On one afternoon that pioneer fire company had a short staff on the ropes as it raced to a fire on Telegraph Hill. Because of the shortage of man power, the engine was falling behind. Oh, humiliating and bitter was the repartee passed by Manhattan No. 2 and Howard No. 3 as the total eclipse seemed to be but a matter of seconds. Then suddenly there came a diversion. It was the story of Jeanne d ‘Arc at Orleans, The Maid of Sargossa and Molly Pitcher of Revolutionary fame all over again.

Pretty and impulsive Lillie Hitchcock, on her way home from school, saw the plight of the Knickerbocker and, tossing her books to the ground, ran to a vacant place on the rope. There she exerted her feeble strength and began to pull, at the same time turning her flushed face to the bystanders and crying: “Come on, you men! Everybody pull and we’ll beat ’em!”

A Famous Day For Little Lillie

Everybody did come and pull and Knickerbocker No. 5 went up the slope like a red streak and got first water on the fire.

That was a famous day for Lillie. From that time on she caught the spirit of the Volunteers and Dr. Hitchcock had difficult work attempting to keep his daughter from dashing away every time an alarm was sounded. As it was, there never was a gala parade in which Lillie was not seen atop Knickerbocker No. 5, embowered in flags and flowers. She was, literally, the patroness of all the firemen of her city.

From her earliest infancy she was curiously fascinated by the red shirt and warlike helmet of the firemen and she gloried in the excitement of a big blaze. Almost invariably, with the energy and speed that the most agile fireman might envy, she hastened to the scene of action. Lillie often said she loved courage in a uniform.

San Francisco society of that day was exclusive and rigid. As the Hitchcocks were valued members, society frequently agonized over the vagaries of its Lillie. But she seems always to have done exactly as she pleased without giving real offense.

On October 3, 1863, she was elected an honorary member of the Knickerbocker Company, and always regarded that honor as the proudest of her life. She wore the numeral as an ornament with all her costumes, along with the gold badge presented at the same time.

Honorary Membership Certificate

As Miss Hitchcock became older, she gave up the habit of following the engine, but the tie that bound her to the company was as strong as ever. If any member of a company fell ill, it was Lillie Hitchcock who gladdened the sickroom. And! should death call him, she sent a floral tribute as final expression of her regard.

A Steadfast Love For California

After her marriage to Howard Coit, a caller at the San Francisco Stock and Bond Exchange, she traveled extensively in the East, in Europe and the Orient. Notwithstanding all her wanderings, her love for California was steadfast and she at length made it her permanent home.

She was a notable figure even at the court of Napoleon III and a maharaja of India, and later when she came back to San Francisco to live she brought with her a remarkable collection of gifts from royalty and others. They included gems of rare value, object of art, mementoes and souvenirs, some of them priceless.

When Mrs. Coit died here on July 22, 1929, at the age of 86, she gave practical evidence of her affection for San Francisco. She left one-third of her fortune to the city “to be expended in an appropriate manner for the purpose of adding to the beauty of the city which I have always loved.” For several years after her death, there was question as to the most fitting interpretation of the “appropriate manner” in which to make the memorial. The executors of her will at last determined to erect a memorial tower in honor of this colorful woman and also a memorial tribute to San Francisco’s firemen.

Both have been completed for some time. The novel appearance of the 185-foot cylindrical tower which stands atop Telegraph Hill is surely a significant symbol to the memory of one whose individuality made her as outstanding an example of contrast to her days as is this unusual form of memorial shaft.

The second memorial to her was unveiled in Washington Square, December 3, 1933. It is a sculptured block representing a life-sized group of three firemen, one of them carrying a woman in his arms.

By: Frederick J. Bowlen, Battalion Chief, S. F. F. D. (1939)

LILLIE HITCHCOCK COIT5

1843 – 1929
Excerpts from the same
By: Floride Green – (Floride Green was Lillie’s life long maid)
The Grabhorn Press (1935)

At this time (1851) the firemen of San Francisco were in all their glory – they had won their laurels on many a fiery field, and snatched it from the flaming jaws of death. They had shown courage, a daring and devotion never excelled in any cause. The best men in San Francisco belonged to these companies and it was considered an honor to be a fireman. Naturally enough they became the objects of the children’s admiration – in their eyes every red shirt covered a hero. Page 14

Her childish admiration for the firemen (all volunteers in these days) grew as the years went on, and this devotion led to that unique phase of her picturesque life, when she became the only woman member of a fire company. Page 18

There would have been no San Francisco without its famed volunteer fire companies – lawyers, doctors, bankers, merchants, all belonged, and she knew every one of them. Her home was just opposite Number 4, but it was to Knickerbocker Number 5 that she gave allegiance. She, like everyone else, went to all the fires that happened in the day time, and at the first clap of the bell at night she always awoke, and then she would pace the floor until the engines were again housed. Many times she would order coffee and a hot supper served at the Oriental Hotel for the members of her company on their return, and her indulgent father was only too willing to pay the bill. Knickerbocker Number 5 became so attached to her that they admitted her to honorary membership October 3, 1863, and her certificate of membership was her most prized possession. After this she was expected to go to all fires that occurred in the day. And at night, if her light was not burning until her engine was housed she was fined. With the tremendous rivalry between the fire companies, Number 5 always regarded her presence worth more than that of many men, for they redoubled their efforts when she stood by looking on with pride at the work of “her company.” Page 19

In those days not only were the engines run to the fires by men pulling ropes but the pumping was also done by man power, As a young lady returning from Grace Church, where she had been to a rehearsal of a wedding at which she was to be bridesmaid, she heard the fire alarm sounding. Immediately she had herself driven to the fire on Market Street. She found two ladders up and her Number 5 and some other company both playing water on the flames. The pipeman on the other ladder jeered at Number 5’s pipeman and pointed her out in her Paris dress saying that she was only a ‘Featherbedder.”

Number 5’s man was furious and to disprove the charge turned the hose full on her and ducked her well. Of course she was surprised, but seeing it had been done by Number 5 she waved her hand and took her ducking as a fireman should. Number 5’s pipeman then played the stream on the burning building, and her fellow member screamed to the other pipeman – “Told you she was no “Featherbedder.”

She always wore a little gold 5 pinned to her dress and signed herself Lillie H. Coit5. She asked that this 5 be left on her at the end. Everything she had, even her linen, was marked – L.H.C.5. Lacemakers even worked it into her monogram on her fans.

In December, 1866, the paid fire department of San Francisco was organized, and she became a veteran. Knickerbocker Number 5 always had an annual dinner October 17th , or as she called it, “Numbers 5’s birthday,” for October 17, 1850 was the date that the company was voted in the department. It was always her self-appointed duty to see to the table decorations and flowers. Later in the evening she would appear at these dinners dressed in a black silk skirt, red fire shirt and black tie, and her veteran’s belt – she usually carried her helmet. Of course a toast was drunk to her health at each dinner. Page 20

The Funeral of Lillie Hitchcock Coit5

Mrs. Coit passed away July 22, 1929. Had she lived a few more weeks she would have been eighty-six years old.

The next morning at the funeral parlor(s) I found a young fireman standing guard at the door of the room where she lay. I asked to what company he belonged and he replied Number 5.” A guard from that company keep watch day and night while she lay there. They considered it an honor that they had been selected to keep vigil over that tiny, white haired old lady, enshrouded in a cloud of lace, pinned with her precious “5.”

Before the cortege reached Grace Cathedral a company of firemen fell in ahead and led the procession. At the Cathedral steps stood three of the four living volunteer fire men: Samuel Baker, Captain J. H. McMenomy, and Richard Cox. They constituted themselves a special guard of honor and proceeded the pall bearers. At the end of the service someone tried to hurry these old Volunteers – but they took their own time and each laid his hand reverently on the casket and paused to say his silent goodbye before the procession could move on.

They felt that she belonged to them and it was exactly what she would have liked.

After going part of the way, the firemen parted ranks, stood with bared heads while she was borne between them. I thought this was San Francisco’s farewell to her – but this was not to be so, for the city intends that she shall be remembered by the beautiful observation tower which it has erected to her memory. Page 45

The Will of Lillie Hitchcock Coit5

Lillie Coit left one third of her estate ($225,000) to the Supervisors of San Francisco with the request that they should “expend the same in an appropriate manner for the purpose of adding to the beauty of said city which I have always loved.”

They decided that nothing would so add to the beauty of the city as a tower on the top of historic Telegraph Hill, where she had so often played. Page 46

There was money left over in Lillie’s bequest after the building of Coit Tower. The remaining available funds were used for a statue dedicated to the volunteer firemen of San Francisco. This statue, in Washington Square, is of three firemen, one of them is holding a small child. This monument is one of the few pre-9/11 monuments in the United States that honored firefighters.

The Dedication of Coit Tower

California Historical Landmark 91
San Francisco Landmark 165

On October 8, 1933, city officials, civic organizations, the army, the pioneers, the Sons and Daughters of the Revolution, the Sons and Daughters of the Golden West, the firemen and old friends gathered there to dedicate this tower to the memory of the one they had always loved.

Knickerbocker Engine Number 5 was sold years ago to Carson City, and later discarded as too antiquated. After Mrs. Coit’s death, a few friends, who know how dear it had been to her, bought it and gave it to the Museum in San Francisco. Page 46

As, at the death of an officer, his sword and his reversed boots are borne by his riderless charger, so at the dedication of the Coit Tower her fire helmet and veteran’s belt, rested on Number 5 as it was dragged slowly up Telegraph Hill and stood there mutely speaking of the pioneer days. Page 47

A Present Day Myth About Lillie Coit

The myth is that Lillie Hitchcock Coit was the first woman firefighter in the United States.

Due to the fact that Lillie W. Hitchcock was made an honorary member of Kinckerbocker Company No. 5, she has falsely been given the title of the first woman firefighter in the United States. Please note that she was made an “honorary” member, not given a full membership, of Knickerbocker Company No. 5. There is no documentation that Lillie ever was allowed to participate in extinguishing a fire, but she was involved in all other aspects of “her company.”

Not a Myth About Lillie Coit

At age 15 (1858) Knickerbocker 5 adopted Lillie as their mascot and in every parade she was given the honor of riding atop the engine’s wash box amid wreaths, garlands and bouquets of choicest flowers, like some ballroom belle.

Previously, Lillie had been considered the pet of the young gold rush town of San Francisco.

At age 17 she and her mother left for Paris and returned three years later in the spring of 1863. Upon her return Lillie quickly became the belle of San Francisco.

On October 3, 1863 Lillie W. Hitchcock was voted an honorary membership of Kinckerbocker 5, and was given the following rules by the company.

She was expected to go to all fires that occurred during the day.

At night, if her light was not burning until her engine was housed she was fined.

With the esteemed position of honorary membership, she was allowed to wear the parade uniform of the company; a fireman’s red shirt, a black skirt (instead of pants), a parade helmet with her initials, and a formal parade belt from the Veteran Firemen’s Association of San Francisco. Lillie’s helmet and her 1863 honorary membership certificate and now on display at the SFFD Museum.

On her own she helped pull the engine of her company to the fire as a young girl. She did help with the social events of her company. She did visit sick members of the company, even well after the company was disbanded. She did assist with a proper burial of the firemen of her company if their families could not afford it.

While Mrs. Coit was constantly doing things that no other woman of her time would have dared to, her escapades were always innocent and she was never touched by the breath of scandal – everything was always open and above board. In her unconventionality, her lack of concern as to what others would think of her, she was far in advance of her times. (LHC5- Page 36)

In Paris during 1860 and 1863, she was taught how to dance by the head of the Ballet School. Page 26 This training made her the envy of every woman at a dance. Lillie’s dance card was always quickly filled after her entrance.

She traveled to Paris often and she was a notable figure at the court of Napoleon III.

On November 19, 1868, she married Benjamin Howard Coit. Howard Coit was an elected (1870) caller of the Stock Board during the tremendously exciting days of the Bonanza strike (of the Virginia City Comstock Lode). Page 27. His remarkable aptitude for the position, secured him a salary of $1000 a month. Mr. Coit died of heart disease during sleep, May 14, 1885; at the age of 47.

Lillie was a finished poker player. Page 27 During her married life her home was the rendezvous for the state builders – Ralston, Sharon and others – and these men recreated at night by playing poker. Mrs. Coit was as good a player as any of them and was often the only woman in the game.

Lillie was an avid hunter. Page 30. Mrs. Coit was a splendid shot and the hall at “Larkmead” in the Napa Valley filled with trophies of the chase. Her hunting suit was made by Poole of London – a white shirt (with a stiff front and high collar) a jacket and a skirt which escaped the ground about ten inches – a very extreme innovation in those days! She use to tell the story on herself that as she got out of her hunting wagon in Calistoga, an old country man, who had been sitting on the hotel porch with his feet cocked up on the railing, sprang to his feet and shouted: “My God! It’s a woman!” Everyone in the valley knew her for a “dead shot.”

Lillie was an accomplished carriage driver. Page 31. Not only was she a fancy driver, but she could tool her four-hand over any mountain road for Mrs. Coit had some of the best old stage-drivers come to “Larkmead” to instruct her.

A Present Day Myth of Coit Tower

Coit Tower was designed as a fire nozzle to honor Lillie Coit and the San Francisco firefighters. The 210 foot tower was designed by Arthur Brown, Jr. (1874-1957) an American architect based in San Francisco who had stated on many occasions that his tower was not designed to resemble a fire hose nozzle.

Mr. Brown also designed many other San Francisco buildings such as the Beaux-Arts City Hall (1915) where his attention extended to the smallest details, such as, light fixtures, floor patterns and even doorknobs that feature the seal of the city. In 1932 he designed the War Memorial Opera House and in collaboration with G. Albert Lansburgh, the Veterans Building. He designed the rotunda for the City of Paris department store at Geary and Stockton Streets which is now preserved in the Niemen Marcus building. His other accomplishments extend throughout California and across the Nation.

allstaractivist note: It was surprising to me just exactly what the political climate was back when Coit Tower was erected. I am not associating Mrs. Coit with any political ideology whatsoever, the tower was conceived of and built long after her death. I do wonder if she would have approved of the fascist symbolism on the front, or of the socialist murals inside. I don’t think so being the free spirit that she seemed to be, deriving her wealth from Capitalism. It may have actually been a dishonor to her.

I have not read the book below, but it seems to do a pretty good job of capturing the political beliefs of the day. Many people don’t know just how closely we were involved with fascism and socialism back then, some would say we still are. Coit Tower was built during this time and is a good reflection of the era. The book below might help those so interested get a better understanding of our journey from back then up to our present day.

Book Description

Publication Date:July 27, 2011

A new President takes office amidst economic and financial turmoil. A business community is bruised and battered from public condemnation. A controversial and ambitious political agenda with far-reaching consequences is fiercely challenged across the country. A dangerous foreign ideology overshadows American debates on security.2009? Not exactly. It was 1934, and one year into Franklin Roosevelt’s administration, powerful forces were gathering to oppose the New Deal. Some were comical, like the Silver Shirt militiamen who wore ill-fitting uniforms emblazoned with a giant L for “Love, Liberty, and Loyalty.” Others were deadly serious, like the heir to the Singer sewing machine dynasty who admitted he was willing to spend half of his thirty million dollar inheritance in order to save the other half by overthrowing the U.S. government.In STATE OF EMERGENCY, Nate Braden brings these various threads together to show how the United States was closer to revolution in 1934 than at any time since 1776. Relying on thousands of pages of testimony from the House Un-American Activities Committee – held in executive session and kept classified for decades – he crafts a spellbinding story of a troubled country rocked by political and economic upheaval.While countless books have been written on the Depression, Braden sheds new light on a host of fascinating, forgotten characters who hatched an incredible scheme to make Franklin Roosevelt the last American President.There was the private wealth manager from New York who visited Germany and was inspired by Hitler to create a paramilitary force of 500,000 men modeled on the Nazi Brownshirts. He had $700 million in assets to finance this private army. Thanks to his friendship with a high-ranking Army officer, he was able to tour Civilian Conservation Corps camps in Maryland with the intent of using them as staging areas for his men to march on Washington.There was Douglas MacArthur’s deputy chief of staff; a man who despised Franklin Roosevelt and everything he stood for, advocated the forced sterilization of foreign “undesirables,” and believed “the problem of the Jew in America must be studied and solved without further delay.”There was the West Point graduate and co-founder of the American Legion who returned from World War I to start a successful Wall Street brokerage firm. A passionate libertarian, he was convinced the New Deal was a front for a Communist revolution. Quietly, discreetly, he began to work through chosen agents for an end to democratic rule in the United States.There were the disturbing signs that America’s social and political fabric was unraveling. From the Farmers’ Holiday insurrection in Iowa to the Bonus Army riot in Washington, the writing was on the wall – after three years of Depression, the American people weren’t going to take much more.There were the cadres of paramilitary organizations cropping up with alarming frequency across the country. Most were pompous and impotent. Others had cash and cunning; men who were making plans to assassinate public officials and take over city halls, hiding weapons near major population centers in the event the time came to act.

Using his trademark eye for detail and mastery of historic context, Braden weaves these disparate elements together in a fascinating tale of conspiracy and treason, of fear and honor, proving once again the truth of Thomas Jefferson’s famous warning: “The price of liberty is eternal vigilance.”

allstaractivist note: I kind of have a unique mind (some say genius, others say crazy…). It does have it’s advantages sometimes however, and the below article is one of those times.

The poisoning I am enduring is accomplished by forcing me to breath noxious and toxic stuff. That stuff comes back out in the form of my spit, feces, urine and most obviously, exhaled breath. In the morning I can blow my nose and an extremely strong chemical oder comes out. I have to be careful not to take breaths through my mouth because the chemical will burn and blister my tongue if I do.

The thought occured to me that I should capture samples of what is flushed out. I then wondered if there was some way that I could capture my exhaled breath too. I have found such a method and it was created only last year. Basically, it is a vacuum tube with one way valves on each end. I had thought that any glass vacuum tube with a sealed end would do but if they already make one, so much the better. There may be a better suited device (absorbant in tube) for catching breath for analysis, consultation with your lab of choice is probably a good idea. The below article is a good place to start, it concerns detecting exposure levels to a known hazardous chemical in an occupational setting. Good enough for me, I used to be a HAZWOPER ironically enough.

Because the Gang Stalkers use an unkown poison (unknown at least to me), a wide variety of samples from all bodily secretions would be a good idea, the lab will likely appreciate it. Also, if the chemical is not already known, testing can get expensive. Bio pathagens are a little easier because they can be cultured.

One final caveat and encouragement for all of you Targeted Individuals out there, troll Gang Stalkers will try to befriend and mislead you. I have had so many trolls try to tell me the poison is a pesticide this, a solvent that… I just ignore them. So much disinfo out there. Follow your own mind and common sense and you will make your way because if you have been targeted, God is probably looking out for you.

The encouragement is this;

Time is winding down for the Gang Stalkers, people are waking up to their crimes

Criminals will be criminals and will commit crimes against their own. Defectors are sure to result and they will have their revenge by telling on their former partners. It won’t be too much longer until we uncover most if not all of their methods of control.

God doesn’t like what they are doing and will put a stop to it soon enough, just stay strong and faithful to Jesus. He will deliver us in due time, in due time.

septum

(ˈsɛptəm)

n, pl-ta (-tə)

1. (Biology)biologyanatomy a dividingpartitionbetweentwotissues or cavities

2. (Anatomy)biologyanatomy a dividingpartitionbetweentwotissues or cavities

3. (MechanicalEngineering) a dividingpartition or membranebetweentwocavities in a mechanicaldevice

Pluralsepta

A thinwall or membranethatseparatestwoparts,structures, or individualorganisms.Thechambers of theheartare separated by septa.

Figure 3: Sampling end-exhaled air with a gas sampling tube; mouthpiece screwed on; left hand: one of two sealing caps with septum; plastic net sleeve to protect glass.

2.1.1. Sampling

(1) Exhaled Air Sampler. Breath samplers of the valveless glass-tube type were not commercially available. An internally developed sampler was therefore used (Figure 1). The valveless exhaled air sampler, similar to the description by Stewart [28], consisted of a glass tube (outer diameter 2 cm, length 20.5 cm) with threads (thread size 13–425) on both ends and two open-top septum screw caps. Unlike in Stewart’s work, however, not only were the tube dimensions changed, but the glass tube openings were also optimized. The tube openings on both ends were formed as cylindrical holes (inner diameter 3 mm, length 10 mm). The glass tubes were custom-manufactured to our specific requirements by Glastechnik Gräfenroda GmbH (Gas Sampling Tube—Type BAuA, Gräfenroda, Germany).

The screw caps were made of glass-filled nylon in a robust design (thread size 13–425, Kimble Chase, Rockwood, USA) and contained PTFE-lined silicone septa (75 mils thick, Supelco, Bellefonte, USA). The volume of a sealed tube was approximately 37.5 mL and was determined gravimetrically for each tube. Open-top screw caps for autosampler vials (thread size 13–425, wide mouth, Infochroma, Zug, Switzerland) without a septum were used as disposable mouthpieces (Figure 2).

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Abstract

Simple and cost-effective analytical methods are required to overcome the barriers preventing the use of exhaled air in routine occupational biological monitoring. Against this background, a new method is proposed that simplifies the automation and calibration of the analytical measurements. End-exhaled air is sampled using valveless gas sampling tubes made of glass. Gaseous analytes are transferred to a liquid phase using a microscale solvent extraction performed directly inside the gas sampling tubes. The liquid extracts are analysed using a gas chromatograph equipped, as usual, with a liquid autosampler, and liquid standards are used for calibration. For demonstration purposes, the method’s concept was applied to the determination of tetrachloroethene in end-exhaled air, which is a biomarker for occupational tetrachloroethene exposure. The method’s performance was investigated in the concentration range 2 to 20 μg tetrachloroethene/L, which corresponds to today’s exposure levels. The calibration curve was linear, and the intra-assay repeatability and recovery rate were sufficient. Analysis of real samples from dry-cleaning workers occupationally exposed to tetrachloroethene and from nonexposed subjects demonstrated the method’s utility. In the case of tetrachloroethene, the method can be deployed quickly, requires no previous experiences in gas analysis, provides sufficient analytical reliability, and addresses typical end-exhaled air concentrations from exposed workers.

1. Introduction

If a worker is exposed to a workplace chemical, the chemical can enter the body. Analytical determination of the chemical or its metabolites in the body allows estimation of the absorbed dose and ultimately the health hazard. Biological samples such as blood or urine are routinely used for this kind of analysis, which is known as biological monitoring, or biomonitoring for short.

Absorbed volatile chemicals are partly eliminated from the body via exhalation. Exhaled air, also referred to as exhaled breath, is therefore also suitable for analysis in biological monitoring. Nevertheless, exhaled air is rarely used outside of research applications within this specialist field. Possible reasons for this include a lack of practical, reliable, and commercially available sampling systems, as well as analytical difficulties [1].

Against this background, a new exhaled air analysis method is to be developed that overcomes the previous operating limits and can be used in routine situations. Tetrachloroethene was chosen as a model substance for the development process.

Tetrachloroethene (CAS number: 127-18-4; synonyms: tetrachloroethylene, perchloroethylene, PER, PCE) is a volatile solvent widely used in various technical processes and as an intermediate in the chemical industry [2]. Solvent applications are well known in cleaning procedures such us dry cleaning, metal degreasing, and film restoration [2]. Workers are exposed via inhalation and dermal absorption [3]. The majority of the incorporated neurotoxic substance is eliminated unchanged via exhalation [3]. The American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) and the Scientific Committee on Occupational Exposure Limits (SCOEL) have suggested assessment values for tetrachloroethene in exhaled air from exposed workers [3, 4].

Several sampling and analytical methods have been reported for the determination of tetrachloroethene in exhaled air: for example, exhaled air sampling has been achieved using glass tubes that can be sealed with septum caps [5–8] or valves [9, 10], bags made of polyvinyl fluoride [11–18] or polyvinylidene chloride [8,19], adsorbent tubes [20, 21], more complex sampling devices [22, 23], or by direct exhalation into an analyser [24, 25]. Sample analyses were performed using a gas chromatograph [5–13, 15–22], surface acoustic wave sensors [14], an atmospheric-pressure ionization mass spectrometer [24], or an infrared spectrometer [8, 25]. The gaseous samples were transferred directly into the measurement device using gas-tight syringes [5–9, 11, 15–19, 22], or the tetrachloroethene was extracted from the breath or breath samples using solid-phase microextraction (SPME) [10] or adsorption tubes and then analysed following thermal desorption [10, 13, 14] or liquid elution [12, 20, 21].

Application of the suggested assessment values for tetrachloroethene requires strict adherence to the specified sampling times “prior to shift” [4] or “prior to the last shift of a work week” [3]. Routine use of exhaled air in biological monitoring therefore requires sampling methods that could be performed by the clients themselves under field conditions if necessary. The requirements for routine use are not currently met by direct-reading instruments, for example, an atmospheric-pressure ionization mass spectrometer [24] or infrared spectrometer [25] coupled with a breath inlet system, or by technically complex sampling systems, for instance, with built-in pumps and a multitude of valves [23].

Exhaled air consists of ambient air retained in the respiratory dead space and alveolar air [26]. The latter has been involved in gas exchange in the lung and can be sampled after the dead space air has been exhaled [26]. For this reason, alveolar air is also called end-exhaled air. The quoted assessment values for tetrachloroethene are defined explicitly for end-exhaled air. The breath-sampling method must therefore ensure that only this exhaled air fraction is sampled.

For routine uses, the most appropriate sampler seems to be a valveless glass tube that can be sealed with septum caps. Due to their design, such tubes sample end-exhaled air if the tube volume is less than the alveolar air volume. For sampling, a subject needs only to exhale once completely through the open tube. Tubes of this kind allow self-sampling [27], are inexpensive to manufacture, and do not allow gas to permeate through their glass wall. Glass tubes equipped with valves can be sealed very quickly after sampling, but valves make the sampling device bulky and expensive for the purposes of routine sampling.

In contrast to glass tubes, bags do not collect end-exhaled air automatically [26]. The subject therefore has to exhale the dead-space air into the environment and then the alveolar air into the bag [18]. The sampling procedure therefore seems error-prone, and the results are more strongly influenced by the subject’s cooperation.

Direct exhalation into adsorption tubes is well suited to analyte enrichment and stabilization of gaseous samples for transport and storage. However, the sampling procedure requires that the sampled volume be measured using an additional device, which reduces the routine practicality of the method.

To overcome the current barriers to routine exhaled air analysis, a proposed method must take into account the technical realities of typical biomonitoring laboratories. The basic equipment of such laboratories often includes a gas chromatograph coupled with a liquid autosampler. In contrast, the handling of adsorbent tubes and thermal desorption techniques is more common in air-monitoring than biomonitoring laboratories. The latter are familiar with solid-phase microextraction techniques, but the use of such techniques for routine breath analysis requires sophisticated automation solutions. The same applies to direct injection of breath samples into the analyser. Furthermore, calibration is carried out using gaseous standards in both cases. Unfortunately, biomonitoring laboratories are not usually familiar with gas calibrations.

Liquid sample analyses are one strength of biomonitoring laboratories, which commonly analyse blood and urine samples. Solvent extraction of analytes from exhaled air samples allows direct transformation of the gaseous samples into “liquid samples” and, consequently, the use of existing skills and technologies. The process calibration can therefore be performed with liquid standards, and a typical liquid autosampler can be used for the automation of the measurement step. In conclusion, the method presented in this work was conceived based on sampling end-exhaled air using valveless glass tubes, solvent extraction of the analyte, and automated liquid-sample analysis using gas chromatography. To the authors’ knowledge, no end-exhaled air analysis methods have yet been published that use direct solvent extraction.

2. Experimental

2.1. Exhaled Air Analysis

2.1.1. Sampling

(1) Exhaled Air Sampler. Breath samplers of the valveless glass-tube type were not commercially available. An internally developed sampler was therefore used (Figure 1). The valveless exhaled air sampler, similar to the description by Stewart [28], consisted of a glass tube (outer diameter 2 cm, length 20.5 cm) with threads (thread size 13–425) on both ends and two open-top septum screw caps. Unlike in Stewart’s work, however, not only were the tube dimensions changed, but the glass tube openings were also optimized. The tube openings on both ends were formed as cylindrical holes (inner diameter 3 mm, length 10 mm). The glass tubes were custom-manufactured to our specific requirements by Glastechnik Gräfenroda GmbH (Gas Sampling Tube—Type BAuA, Gräfenroda, Germany).

The screw caps were made of glass-filled nylon in a robust design (thread size 13–425, Kimble Chase, Rockwood, USA) and contained PTFE-lined silicone septa (75 mils thick, Supelco, Bellefonte, USA). The volume of a sealed tube was approximately 37.5 mL and was determined gravimetrically for each tube. Open-top screw caps for autosampler vials (thread size 13–425, wide mouth, Infochroma, Zug, Switzerland) without a septum were used as disposable mouthpieces (Figure 2).

Figure 2: Sketch of the valveless gas sampling tube, ready for sampling; open-top cap screwed on as a mouthpiece.

(2) End-Exhaled Air Sampling Procedure. For sampling, the subjects breathed normally and then exhaled completely through the glass tubes (Figure 3) after inhaling and holding their breath for 5 seconds. The subjects then removed the mouthpieces and screwed the sealing caps onto the tubes. Samples collected in the field were transported to the laboratory at ambient temperature and in the dark. The glass tubes were protected using plastic net sleeves to ensure safe handling and transport (Figure 3).

Figure 3: Sampling end-exhaled air with a gas sampling tube; mouthpiece screwed on; left hand: one of two sealing caps with septum; plastic net sleeve to protect glass.

2.1.2. Sample Analysis

(1) Sample Preparation. The analyte tetrachloroethene was extracted from the exhaled air samples using a microscale solvent extraction procedure: 200 μL isooctane (Suprasolv, Merck, Darmstadt, Germany) was injected into the breath samples in the sealed gas sampling tubes using a 250 μL syringe (Series G, ILS, Stützerbach, Germany). The tubes were then placed horizontally on an RM10-V 30 tube roller mixer (Labortechnik Fröbel, Lindau, Germany) for 20 minutes at a speed of 1 revolution per minute. After mixing, the tubes were placed in a vertical position with the intact septa at the bottom for 15 minutes to allow phase separation. Figure 4 shows the separated isooctane phase of the exhaled air extract; it is located within the cylindrical hole of the gas sampling tube.

Figure 4: Sketch of the lower side of a gas sampling tube in the vertical position: the exhaled breath extract (the isooctane phase) is located within the cylindrical hole.

The extract was withdrawn from the sealed tubes using a 250 μL syringe (Series G, ILS, Stützerbach, Germany) as shown in Figure 5 and then injected directly into 250 μL glass microvials (iV2 μ-Vial, Glastechnik Gräfenroda, Gräfenroda, Germany). The vials were sealed immediately with PTFE-silicone septum screw caps (MS Pure, Glastechnik Gräfenroda, Gräfenroda, Germany) and placed in the autosampler tray of the gas chromatograph for analysis.

GC-MS Method. The autosampler injected 2 μL of a sample with a split ratio of 1 : 20. After the injection, the syringe was washed using n-hexane (puriss., absolute, Sigma Aldrich, Munich, Germany) to avoid carryover effects. The gas chromatograph temperature settings were as follows: injection temperature was 250°C; column oven temperature programme was 40°C for 2 min, followed by an increase to 60°C at 5°C/min and then to 90°C at 30°C/min; the transfer line was set to 250°C. Helium 6.0 was used as a carrier gas at a constant flow rate of 1 mL/min. The mass selective detector was operated with electron impact ionization (70 eV) in selected ion monitoring (SIM) mode. Tetrachloroethene was monitored using the target ion 166 m/z and the qualifier ion 131 m/z. The target ion was used for quantitation. The analyte was identified using the retention time and the abundance ratio of qualifier ion to target ion. Peak integration was performed using the ChemStation software. The position of the isooctane peak was explored using the ion 99 m/z; the solvent delay was then set to 4 minutes.

(3) Calibration. For calibration, 200 μL of calibration solution (isooctane spiked with tetrachloroethene) was injected into gas sampling tubes containing end-exhaled air from subjects not exposed to tetrachloroethene. The resulting calibration samples were treated the same as real samples after the addition of isooctane according to Section 2.1.2(1) and analysed as described in Section 2.1.2(2). The exhaled air from the subjects who gave the matrix samples was checked for blank values. Calibration curves were obtained by plotting the peak areas of tetrachloroethene as a function of the concentrations or masses used. The latter allowed the actual sample volumes to be taken into account. The determined tetrachloroethene masses were therefore divided by the sample volumes, which corresponded to the volumes of the sampling tubes used.

Preparation of Calibration Solutions

Stock Solution I. 30 μL of tetrachloroethene (analytical standard, Sigma-Aldrich, Steinheim, Germany) was drawn into a 50 μL syringe. The standard was injected into a 10 mL volumetric flask partly filled with isooctane (Suprasolv, Merck, Darmstadt, Germany). The syringe was weighed before and after injection to determine the mass of standard injected. The flask was made up to the mark with isooctane.

Stock Solution II. A 200 μL aliquot of stock solution I was pipetted (200 μL, variable, Eppendorf Research plus, Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany) into a 10 mL volumetric flask and diluted to the mark with isooctane.

Calibration Solutions. Microlitre volumes of stock solution II were aliquoted into 10 mL volumetric flasks using adjustable pipettes (Eppendorf Research, Eppendorf) and diluted to the mark with isooctane. The aliquots of stock solution II were calculated such that 200 μL of each calibration solution corresponded to the required tetrachloroethene concentration in the gas sampling tube.

All solutions were stored at 4°C in 10 mL capillary bottles (Certan, Sigma Aldrich, Steinheim, Germany), where they remained stable for at least one week.

2.2. Method Performance Evaluation

2.2.1. Calibration

For the purpose of method evaluation, a 10-point calibration was established in the concentration range 2 to 20 μg tetrachloroethene/L exhaled air. The calibration samples were prepared and analysed as described in Section 2.1.2(3). Table 1 shows an example pipetting scheme.

2.2.2. Method Precision

To determine the precision of the method, spiked end-exhaled air samples ( in each case) were analysed intraday at the concentrations levels 4 and 15 μg tetrachloroethene per litre according to Section2.1.2. The spiked samples were prepared as follows: end-exhaled air was obtained according to Section2.1.1 from a subject not exposed to tetrachloroethene and spiked with tetrachloroethene standard gas (10 μL or 37 μL) using gas-tight syringes (1701N/1705N series, Hamilton, Bonaduz, Switzerland). To keep the septa of the gas sampling tubes intact, the screw caps were unscrewed at one end for gas injections and then screwed back on quickly.

The standard gas was prepared using a static method: using a 25 μL syringe, 20 μL of tetrachloroethene (analytical standard, Sigma Aldrich, Steinheim, Germany) was injected into a 2.2 L static dilution bottle with a valve (Sigma Aldrich, Bellefonte, USA). The syringe was weighed before and after injection to determine the mass of standard injected. The exact bottle volume was determined gravimetrically. The bottle was stored overnight at room temperature to evaporate the substance fully and to equilibrate the gas concentration.

2.2.3. Accuracy

Spiked end-exhaled air samples, prepared as described in Section 2.2.2, were used for recovery experiments. These samples—10 at each of the concentration levels 4 and 15 μg/L tetrachloroethene—were analysed according to Section 2.1.2.

2.2.4. Storage Stability of Breath Samples

The storage stability of end-exhaled air samples was determined using spiked samples at the concentration levels 4 and 15 μg/L. Twenty samples at each concentration were prepared as described in Section 2.2.2. In each case, 10 samples were analysed according to Section 2.1.2 on the day of their creation and 10 samples were analysed after one week of storage in the dark at room temperature.

2.2.5. Limits of Detection and Quantification

The limits of detection and quantification were determined using the calibration curve procedure, following the description by Bader et al. [29]. Calibration standards were prepared in end-exhaled air according to Section 2.2.2. However, the standard gas was diluted beforehand as follows: 5 mL of the standard gas was injected in a second static dilution bottle and the resulting gas was used as the spiking gas. Ten equidistant calibration points in the concentration range 0.005 to 0.05 μg tetrachloroethene/L were analysed according to Sections 2.1.2(1) and 2.1.2(2); the lowest concentration point was close to the expected detection limit.

2.2.6. Field Study

End-exhaled air analyses were performed on four dry cleaners (two men, two women) with known exposure to tetrachloroethene while working in a dry-cleaning shop and a control group of 10 subjects (five men, five women) without such exposure. The dry-cleaning shop used tetrachloroethene as the cleaning solvent and worked primarily with leather garments. The employees’ work tasks were as follows: operating machines, pressing, dyeing, and tagging/inspection. The ethics committee of the Berlin Chamber of Physicians approved the study protocol. All subjects signed informed consent forms.

End-exhaled air sampling was carried out as described in Section 2.1.1 and, in the case of the exposed workers, on a Friday prior to the last shift of the working week. All subjects filled two gas sampling tubes for tetrachloroethene analysis using the proposed method. Samples were collected outdoors to avoid contamination. The ambient temperature and atmospheric pressure were recorded at the sampling site at the moment of sampling. The samples were transported to the laboratory, stored in the dark and at room temperature over the weekend, and analysed on Monday as described in Section 2.1.2. A calibration was performed on the day of measurement for the purposes of quantification. In addition, the mass of water in each of the tubes was determined gravimetrically by weighing the tubes before and after sampling.

3. Results and Discussion

3.1. Method Development—Basics

3.1.1. End-Exhaled Air Sampler

The end-exhaled air sampler used in sampling was self-developed in the form of a valveless gas sampling tube made of glass and sealable with septum caps (Figure 1). The tube openings were designed as cylindrical holes with a diameter of 3 mm. The small openings were intended to reduce the chance of losses during sampling, and the special design of the holes allows withdrawal of the solvent phase after extraction (Figure 5). The tube volume was set at about 37 mL so that the sampling device was easy to handle. To sample pure alveolar air, the tube volume must be less than the volume of the alveolar air fraction in a single exhaled breath. Since the latter volume is approximately 350 mL [30], this requirement has been met. Due to the small tube volume, the tube is flushed with alveolar air approximately nine times until the sample is accommodated. The manufacturing process of the designed glass tubes is comparable to the manufacturing of disposable, screw-cap, laboratory glass vials. The manufacturing cost should therefore be comparatively low. The choice of the 13–425 screw thread (Glass Packaging Institute/USA) at the tube ends allows the use of common mass-produced screw-vial caps and septa, as well as Mininert valves (Supelco, Bellefonte, USA). The latter could be useful for the preparation of gaseous standards in special cases.

The volumes of the gas sampling tubes varied slightly due to manufacturing. Volume determinations in part of the production batch () had the following results: mean 37.5 mL, range 37.2–37.8 mL, and RSD 0.29%. All calculations in this paper took account of the tubes’ individual volumes. For the purposes of future routine analysis, however, it may often be sufficient to use the mean value and to ignore the volume variations.

3.1.2. End-Exhaled Air Sampling Procedure

Since the blood/air partition coefficient for tetrachloroethene is above a figure of about 10, for example, Koizumi determined a value of 11 at 37°C [31], alveolar air sampling without a breath holding time provides a valid index of the solvent’s mixed venous concentration [32]. This assumes, however, that the subject is exhaling after a period of normal ventilation at a constant rate [32]. Unintentionally, however, some subjects spontaneously tend to inhale more deeply to blow into the tube. In these cases, gas equilibration in the lung is slowed [32]. A breath holding time of 5 seconds was therefore chosen for the sampling procedure.

3.1.3. Solvent Extraction

Before development of the solvent extraction method could commence, a suitable solvent had to be selected. The solvent had to meet the following criteria:(i)miscibility with the analyte,(ii)immiscibility with water,(iii)lowest possible vapour pressure,(iv)significantly lower retention time than the analyte in gas chromatography,(v)no interfering impurities.

Isooctane satisfies these criteria and was therefore chosen as the extraction solvent. It is miscible with tetrachloroethene but immiscible with water. The latter is important because breath samples in the gas sampling tubes always contain condensed water. For example, the results of the field study in Section 3.3showed a median value of 33 mg of water per tube. The relatively low vapour pressure of isooctane reduces solvent losses during analysis and increases the robustness of the method. Blank isooctane samples showed no interfering signals in chromatographs. Under the selected chromatographic conditions, isooctane has a significantly lower retention time than tetrachloroethene: 3.1 min versus 5.2 min. Isooctane therefore does not interfere with the analyte signal or extend the analysis time.

The isooctane volume used for the extraction process should be as small as possible in order to achieve a high level of analyte enrichment yet also large enough to achieve good extract recovery. Against this background, the solvent volume was set at 200 μL. The use of the roller mixer in the extraction step leads to the formation of a film of isooctane on the glass wall with a large surface area for gas absorption. Partition equilibrium is therefore reached quickly. Isooctane has a lower density (0.69 g/mL) than water, but the isooctane phase collects at the bottom of the gas sampling tubes if the tubes are held up vertically (Figure 4). The condensed water adheres to the glass wall, mainly in a thin dispersion. It is therefore possible to separate the extract using a syringe (Figure 5). About 50 μL of the extract can usually be transferred into the gas chromatography vials. Water very rarely entered the syringe; when it did, two phases were visible in the vials. The water phase was then simply removed using a syringe.

3.1.4. Gas Chromatographic Analysis

Gas chromatographic analysis of the solvent extract of an end-exhaled air sample is very simple and is completed in about 7 minutes. Excellent chromatograms were obtained using a standard column (HP-1, 30 m), as shown in Section 3.3. Since only a very small quantity of the solvent extract is used for analysis (only 2 μL in the proposed method), a sample extract can be analysed repeatedly. Moreover, the extracts can be diluted if the analyte concentration value exceeds the upper limit of the working range. In this regard, therefore, the use of liquid extracts has advantages over direct exhaled air analysis.

3.1.5. Working Range of the Method

The working range of the analytical method must cover the suggested limit value of 3 ppm tetrachloroethene in end-exhaled air [3, 4]. Since today’s typical concentrations in workers at dry-cleaning shops are well below that limit value, the method should also cover these levels; for example, McKernan et al. measured a preshift value of 0.51 ppm (arithmetic mean, 18 subjects from four shops) [18]. The working range was therefore defined as 2 to 20 μg/L, corresponding to about 0.3 to 3 ppm.

3.2. Method Performance Evaluation

3.2.1. Calibration

Calibration curves were obtained by plotting the peak areas of tetrachloroethene against the concentrations or masses used. Representative calibration curves are shown in Figures 6 and 7.

Figure 6: Calibration curve for the determination of tetrachloroethene in end-exhaled air; peak area against concentration used.

Figure 7: Calibration curve for the determination of tetrachloroethene in end-exhaled air; peak area against mass used.

The curves are linear within the investigated working range of the method (between 2 and 20 μg tetrachloroethene per litre of exhaled air). High values were obtained for the coefficient of determination (). In the calibration curve procedure for determining the limit of detection in Section 2.2.5, one calibration was shifted to a lower concentration range (0.005 to 0.05 μg/L). The curve thus obtained was also linear, with a coefficient of determination of 0.99. The method of calibration is therefore acceptable and can easily be adapted to other concentration ranges.

3.2.2. Method Precision

The intraday precision was determined at the concentration levels 4 and 15 μg tetrachloroethene per litre of end-exhaled air. The results are presented in Table 2 and show that the precision expressed as relative standard deviation is less than 7%. It must be noted that the stated precision includes variations arising through sample preparation, especially with regard to the tetrachloroethene spiking procedure.

3.2.3. Accuracy

Reference materials were not available and there was no possibility of interlaboratory comparability investigations. Spiked end-exhaled air samples were therefore used for recovery experiments at two concentration levels. The results are presented in Table 2. Slightly less tetrachloroethene was recovered than the calculated additions, but the recovery rates are reproducible and sufficient for routine biomonitoring measurements. In addition, the spiking gas was prepared using a static method. Adsorption effects [33] in the static dilution bottle and the syringes may decrease the actual tetrachloroethene concentration in the spiking gas and subsequently lead to an overestimation of the method’s inaccuracy.

The use of an internal standard, for example, 13C tetrachloroethene, might improve the reliability of the method, including the recovery. The extra effort for the internal standard procedure could be considered particularly in nonroutine applications which are beyond the aim of this work.

3.2.4. Limits of Detection and Quantification

The limits of detection and quantification of tetrachloroethene in end-exhaled air were determined using the calibration curve procedure and spiked end-exhaled breath samples. A realistic extraction step was therefore included in the experiment.

Under the given conditions for sample preparation and gas chromatographic determination, the limit of detection was 0.005 μg/L and the limit of quantification was 0.02 μg/L. The limit of quantification is therefore one-thousandth of the suggested biological assessment values [3, 4] and shows the capability of the developed method.

3.2.5. Stability of End-Exhaled Air Samples

Exhaled air from workers exposed to tetrachloroethene is commonly sampled on the last day of a working week [3]. The samples are then sent to the laboratory by standard post. Typically, the laboratory receives the samples after the weekend, so they must remain stable for at least three days at ambient temperature. The stability of breath samples was therefore determined for a storage time of one week at room temperature. Figure 8 shows the results of the stability test. Whereas no tetrachloroethene loss was observed for the concentration level 15 μg/L, a very slight loss of 5% was obtained for the level 4 μg/L. The samples therefore remain sufficiently stable for one week. This conclusion is supported by other authors, who have reported breath sample stability for at least five days in glass tubes [5, 22].

Figure 8: Results of the storage test of end-exhaled air samples over seven days; per level per day; mean concentration of the start day (Day 0) defined as 100%.

3.3. Field Study

A field study was conducted to verify the applicability of the proposed method. Table 3 shows the results of the end-exhaled air analyses of subjects exposed to tetrachloroethene () and nonexposed subjects (, control group).

Table 3: Measurement results of the field study: tetrachloroethene in end-exhaled air in exposed (dry-cleaning workers) and nonexposed (control group) subjects.

The sampling procedure was easy to apply and was accepted well by all subjects. Double sampling, in which the subjects filled two gas sampling tubes consecutively, took about 4 minutes. The water content in the tubes ranged from 14 to 60 mg (median 33 mg, ).

Representative chromatograms of solvent extracts from end-exhaled breath samples from the study participants are shown in Figures 9 and 10.

Figure 10: Representative chromatogram of an end-exhaled air sample from a nonexposed subject (control group).

None of the chromatograms showed any interfering matrix signals. The method therefore exhibits excellent selectivity. The chromatograms obtained for samples from the dry-cleaning workers showed well-shaped tetrachloroethene peaks. In contrast, no significant peaks were observed in the chromatograms for the nonexposed subjects. Table 3 shows excellent agreement between the results for both samples (A and B) from the participants. The level of tetrachloroethene ranged from 3.4 to 16.7 μg/L for the exposed workers. Here, the ion ratios m/z 166 to m/z 131 (target to qualifier ion) for the tetrachloroethene peak agreed between the standards and samples.

When the exhaled air leaves the mouth of a subject during the sampling procedure, the exhaled air will adapt to the ambient pressure and to the temperature of the glass tube, which is commonly equivalent to the ambient temperature. It can be assumed that this adaptation is complete by the time the tube is closed. Measuring the ambient pressure and temperature therefore allows the measured concentrations to be converted to standard conditions (1013 hPa/20°C). This conversion decreases the concentrations stated in Table 3 by 3%. The need to convert the concentrations arises from the respective accuracy requirements. For routine analysis, it may often be acceptable to ignore the real pressure and temperature conditions.

4. Conclusions

The desirable routine use of noninvasive exhaled air analysis in occupational biological monitoring requires simple sampling procedures that are suitable for field use and analysis methods that can be performed in common biomonitoring laboratories. The method developed here fulfills these requirements: end-exhaled air sampling is performed using the classical glass tube technique. A special tube design, developed and used within this study, enables reproducible sampling and means that the tubes can be used directly as separating funnels. The latter allows a simple transformation of end-exhaled air samples into “liquid samples” using a microscale solvent extraction. The liquid samples can be analysed using a common gas chromatography system. A simple liquid autosampler allows the analytical step to be automated. Since the calibration procedure is based on liquid standards, there is no need to prepare gaseous standards.

The method’s concept was successfully applied to the determination of tetrachloroethene in end-exhaled air, which acts as a biomarker for occupational tetrachloroethene exposure. Validation experiments demonstrated acceptable sensitivity, selectivity, precision, and accuracy in the analytical method. A field study proved the applicability of the method, which addresses typical end-exhaled air concentrations from exposed workers. The method can be deployed rapidly, requires no previous experience in gas analysis, and seems to be easily transferable to other workplace chemicals.

Conflict of Interests

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests in relation to the publication of this paper.

Authors’ Contribution

Chris-Elmo Ziener developed the analytical concept and the special gas sampling tube construction, designed and executed experiments and the study, and conceived and wrote the paper. Pia-Paulin Braunsdorf participated in the development and validation of experiments, the field study, and the data analysis and the incorporation of the measurement results into the paper. Both authors read and approved the final paper.

Acknowledgment

The authors thank Mr. Christian Baumli, Infochroma AG (Zug, Switzerland), for many helpful discussions regarding the production of laboratory glass vials. Thanks are due to his advice; it was possible to take ease of production into account in the design of the gas sampling tubes.

allstaractivist note: As you may know, Gang Stalking is the illegal continuation of the FBI’s counter intelligence program known as COINTELPRO.

Although Gang Stalking has metastasized to include many additional government agencies, as well as private contractors alike, it’s original purpose was to destroy the Black Panther Party and specifically, their free breakfast program for pre-school children. It was thought by the then Director of the FBI, the infamous J. Edgar Hoover, that the free breakfast program was actually an indoctrination program to brainwash kids.

Today, Gang Stalking is a comprehensive mechanism for both social and political control, a “shadow government” if you will.

In 1974 at the age of six years old, I became a Targeted Individual. How does a four year old become a Targeted Individual you ask? Simple, you enjoy the eating of scrambled eggs, bacon and fresh milk that just happened to be provided by the Black Panthers and their historic “Head Start” program for pre-school age children.

I remember those hearty and delicious breakfasts where we sat at a simple fold out table in the middle of a very large and dilapidated gymnasium, I don’t remember ever being talked to about anything at all. The young, light skinned black afro wearing lady simply walked around with a carton of milk while we ate, she never said a word. I was always bewildered as to what it was all about except that the food was so good I didn’t care. I came to look forward to the delicious and filling breakfast everyday, especially since we all got to ride tricycles as fast as we wanted afterward. Thats all we did, pile in everyday to the huge, cold and empty gymnasium (except for the long table and little chairs), eat our food until full and then ride tricycles afterward with gleeful abandon. I was sad when it ended and grieved for a long time, mornings were then a disappointment. I would ask my mom if we were going to “the place” and she had to tell me no, they didn’t have money anymore.

Indoctrination camp? You fucking pieces of shit.

For the past forty three (43) years my life has been interfered with ever since.

Honoring the 44th Anniversary of the Black Panther’s Free Breakfast Program

Written by Marc Mascarenhas-Swan

Friday, 18 January 2013 15:54

First day back at school, and I couldn’t help but think of, and thank, the Black Panthers, when my 8 year old daughter went to go and collect the free breakfast for her class from the cafeteria. She handed out, Whole Grain Banana Bread, Low Fat Milk, and Gala Apples, pretty simple stuff really. What I love even more than the healthy food they serve, is that all the kids are offered some; not just the kids from families that qualify for free or subsidized meals, because singling out and stigmatizing kids for needing support just isn’t cool. But like the 8 hour work day, weekends, and free education, things like free breakfast in schools don’t just happen.

You can’t work for justice on an empty stomach 44 years ago, in January 1969, the Black Panther’s launched their Free Breakfast Program for children. The program rapidly expanded from feeding a handful of kids in an Oakland church, to serving over 10,000 a day before they went to school. It spoke volumes about both the deep need in the black community, and the reach and capacity of the party nationally.“As the Party’s community survival programs entered a planning stage that year, we began planning the Free Breakfast for School Children Program. Mrs. Beckford-Smith and I undertook the necessary research to facilitate the program’s opening. This included consulting with nutritionists to determine what a healthy breakfast menu should include, having the church parish hall and kitchen inspected by the health department and fire marshal to certify that we met the necessary health and safety codesIt was the first nationally organized breakfast program in the United States, either in the public or private sector”Father Earl A. Neill – Co-organizer of the first Black Panther Breakfast ProgramIt marked not only the first program of its kind in the US, but indicated a sharp shift in the political direction of the Black Panther Party. For its first few years the Party had been focused on armed self defense, and patrolling the police. The shift toward survival programs was caused by multiple factors. The arrest and death of party militants, the inadequacy of community based services in their neighborhoods, and seeing the need to connect more deeply and practically with the community. Not without internal struggle , the Black Panther Party moved, in the words of scholar Alondra Nelson, “From Self Defense to Self Determination”.“The food component of the BPP was a big part of our organizing, this included our free breakfast program.. Because one thing you can guarantee in an oppressed community, is that you’re going to find hunger. The fact the United States has more food than we need, and folks are still going hungry is a shame, it was a shame then, and it’s a shame now.”Melvin Dickson –Organizer for free meals program for the Black Panther Party in East Oakland

The work became so effective, it drew the ire of the director of the FBI:

“The BCP (Breakfast for Children Program) promotes at least tacit support for the BPP (Black Panther Party) among naive individuals .. . And, what is more distressing, provides the BPP with a ready audience composed of highly impressionable youths.. . . Consequently, the BCP represents the best and most influential activity going for the BPP and, as such, is potentially the greatest threat to efforts by authorities to neutralize the BPP and destroy what it stands for. “

J Edgar Hoover, May 15, 1969

As a consequence of the FBI’s concerns, public authorities clamped down on the programs, and they made an effort to control them by requiring filing with authorities, and compliance with various state regulations. This was often beyond the modest means of the party members running the programs, or counter to the spirit and ideals of the work.

All these programs ended with the demise of the BPP, the same conditions of harassment and infiltration that tore the Panthers apart, also prevented their social programs from being sustained. As their programs folded, some ideas, like the Breakfast program were taken up by the state and institutionalized.

“There was an effort to curb their social programs by trying to force them to get various state licenses, which went against what they were trying to do which was create this organic thing. It created a lot of red tape. Their breakfast program became the Head Start program. Their ideas were taken up by the state and institutionalized.”

Alondra Nelson – Author Body and Soul: The Black Panther Party and the Fight against Medical Discrimination.

So in 1975 the National School Breakfast program was launched, serving free or reduced priced breakfasts to kids in need every school day. Can we argue that this was a direct result of the Black Panthers work, it’s hard to say? But it is clear that the Black Panther Free Breakfast Program scared and embarrassed the state, and highlighted the gross and endemic racialized inequalities inherent in U.S. society.

The Panthers focused their attention on the construction of institutions that provided for the communites needs. Because they knew the state response would be inadequate or non-existent, because it was an arena to politicize their community, and because they were interested in the development of a new society.

“All these programs satisfy the deep needs of the community but they are not solutions to our problems. That is why we call them survival programs, meaning survival pending revolution. We say that the survival program of the Black Panther Party is like the survival kit of a sailor stranded on a raft. It helps him to sustain himself until he can get completely out of that situation. So the survival programs are not answers or solutions, but they will help us to organize the community around a true analysis and understanding of their situation. When consciousness and understanding is raised to a high level then the community will seize the time and deliver themselves from the boot of their oppressors. If they have a need we will serve their needs and attempt to get them to understand the true reasons why they are in need in such an incredibly rich land.”

To Die for the People (Book of essays) – Huey Newton

The path toward fundamental, positive societal transformation is not a straight one. Full of obstacles, turns and steep hills. Co-optation doesn’t have to mean that we are losing, on the contrary it can mean that we are winning. What is crucial is that we remember who fought the battles, and reclaim our history by telling our children.

In the face of intertwined economic and ecological catastrophes, learning from and applying the lessons of those who built politicized, community controlled institutions of self reliance, and furthermore through them contested for power, may be our best hope for survival.

Marc was born and bred in England and buttered in the San Francisco Bay Area. He likes to strategize around, and build political and pragmatic unity between those sectors fighting for social, racial and economic justice, and those that are building grassroots, democratic, economic solutions. He has two amazing kids that he tries to spend as much time as possible with.

allstaractivist note: These are Sinus CT scans of my head that were ordered by my ENT. I came into his office presenting novel symptoms after having had him perform Sinus Surgery with Balloon Sinuplasty in October of 2014. My novel symptoms of nasal swelling and green expectorate caused him to laugh and exclaim that in thirty years of practice he had never seen this before. Of course I had explained to him earlier before the surgury that my symptoms were due to Gang Stalker poisoning (government experimentation and torture) however, I’m not sure he believed me. Now, all other explanations have been eliminated. So, he is going through a process of elimination (standard diagnostics) to find the cause, I trust him. Miraculously, as soon as I started to see him again the poisoning dramatically curtailed however, I have enough evidence for proof now.

The day of the CT scan the Gang Stalkers backed off so that my sinus cavities would not be swollen however, they have other poisons and weapons (military grade DEW weapons) that make you just as sick without so many observable symptoms. They have had time to develop these due to covert and nonconsensual experimentation on the public and soldiers, like me.

From this point on I am publishing all of my medical records as they are received. I do this to both establish a baseline (although I’m already sick) as well as show other TI’s methods for exposing government/police sanctioned Gang Stalking criminals. A trail of bread crumbs should I meet an untimely demise. Below are my Sinus CT films and an instructional guide on how to read them. Enjoy!

You are here: Home / General / TESTING – CT Imaging the Sinuses (Sinus CT Scan)

How To “Read” A Sinus CT Scan

CT Imaging of the Sinuses

Today I will focus on imaging the sinuses. Computed Tomography (CT) Scans.

(I will cover imaging of the neck, and imaging of the ears – along with imaging of the temporal bones, separately at another time).

Important consideration: All test results must be interpreted along with the medical history. A CT scan alone does not determine whether a patient has acute sinusitis, chronic sinusitis, or whether they may need surgery. The whole patient must be considered when reviewing the test results.

How to “Read” a CT Scan: Orientation

The beauty of CT scans is that they can be artificially “rotated” inside the computer. This gives docs the ability to change the angle of the “slices” through the head – the “plane”.

In practical terms, there are only 2 planes that are common for imaging the sinuses: the coronal plane, and the axial plane:

The drawing on the left shows us about where the slice was taken for the CT Scan Image on the right. It goes through the mid or front part of the eye sockets (orbits), ethmoid sinuses, and maxillary sinuses. Compare the CT scan on the right with the drawing of the sinuses and the child’s face just above.

Let’s “Read” The Coronal Sinus CT Scan Above

On the right, the patient is facing us, their right side is on our left and vice versa. Look toward the right side (the patient’s left sinuses): all of the sinuses are black – full of air. That’s a good thing. Now look over at the left side (the patient’s right sinuses): there is some gray stuff in the Maxillary Sinus. Can’t tell exactly what that is, but we can speculate, based on years of experience. Some of it is probably secretions – snot. Some of it is probably swelling. That swelling that goes all the way around the sinus suggests chronic inflammation – chronic sinusitis.

CT Scan of the Sinuses in the Axial Plane

CT Scan of Sinuses in Axial Plane

Let’s “Read” The Axial Sinus CT Scan Above

The drawing at the left shows the level of the slice, below the eye sockets, through the level of the maxillary sinuses. The CT Scan on the right shows the maxillary sinuses full of black – air (arrows). These are relatively healthy sinuses. We are looking up at the slice, so the patient’s right is on our left of the image, and vice versa.

CT Scan of the Sinuses in the Axial Plane

Let’s “Read” The Axial Sinus CT Scan Above

The drawing at the left shows the level of the slice, through the middle of the eye sockets, higher up than the previous scan. The CT Scan on the right shows the ethmoid sinuses, full of black – air (arrows). Again, these are relatively healthy sinuses.

CT Scan of Sinuses in the Coronal Plane

Let’s “Read” The Coronal Sinus CT Scan Above

The drawing on the left shows the level of the coronal slice, through the back part of the eye socket. The corresponding CT Scan image on the right shows the ethmoid sinuses, and the maxillary sinuses, nearly full of gray stuff.

In this case, these are nasal and sinus polyps. Only the patient’s right maxillary sinus (on the left of the CT scan) shows a small area of air (black).

This is severe, advanced polyp disease. This can be seen in children with Cystic Fibrosis.

Summary

That should provide the basics to help understand your little boogorhead’s Sinus CT scans. At least, when your ENT doc discusses the findings you can keep up now. For the curious, check out some of the previous articles on this blog about Sinus CT scans, listed below in Resources. Please leave a reply or email me with questions or comments! Thanks for visiting!

More imaging later: I will cover imaging of the neck, and imaging of the ears (and temporal bones) separately at another time.

Over the coming months there will be experts from various areas of medicine here to review the how-and-why of testing. Stay tuned.

allstaractivist note: Going through prior posts only four hours after she died, I came across the appeal to support Baby Olivia. Something urged me to find out how she was now doing. I clicked on her facebook link and saw what you see below. It broke my heart even though I know she is now in Paradise with Jesus and has total joy and rest. I’m sorry for the much too short time you had here on Earth, but I’m glad too that you now get to live with God. Ugh, life is hard.

allstaractivist note: Funny story. Yesterday I had a CT scan ordered by my ENT here at Doctor’s Hospital in San Pablo, California. Since Gang Stalkers heavily recruit medical personnel to wrangle poisoned TI’s, I expected to encounter some stalkers. Lab Techs, LVN’s, Doctors, Nurses, administrators, etc. Anyway, after I’m done with the CT scan, I figure that I’ll run through the hospital handing out cards before I leave. I get on the elevator and go to the fourth floor. When I step out I can see this is one of the floors in transition from the shutdown and there are no patients there. I see only suits and scrubs, no white uniforms. Everyone looks at me all at once, probably expecting someone they know. I quickly get back on the elevator going down and two men in scrubs get on with me. I see my chance. “Have you guys ever heard of a thing called Gang Stalking?” I ask. The unmasked tech immediately says “Yeah, that’s where I send people to harass my ex wife.” I burst out laughing and then proceeded to clumsily go through the rest of my pitch, now totally thrown off but amused. The masked tech is just glaring at me viciously but they are both at rapt attention and listening to me every word. When I finish my pitch, the tech that made the first crack starts to get off and leans in close to my face with a mischievous grin. He then emphatically says, “Well, I’ll take a look at your blog and then I’ll send them to come look you up!” with a wry grin on his face. I cracked up.

That’s what is so fun about talking to people about real stuff like this, you never know what you’re going to get.

For the intrepid, life is an adventure! 🙂

For about the past month I’ve made it a point to hand out at least two business cards with my blog address on them, every time I go out. For the most part, reception has been positive. Of course, I have no way of knowing whether the person that I gave the card to actually visited my blog or not but I must say, stats do seem to be rising.

When I approach a person, I try to figure out which post on my blog might interest them. Most of the time my guesses have been fairly accurate however, I’m observing something interesting that I never would have suspected. You see, I think the graphics on my business card are pretty ugly. In making the design, I thought it best to make the card look like the blog as much as possible. Aesthetics were secondary. Much to my surprise, the complexity of the design with all it’s strange little images, kind of hypnotizes the person that I give it to. The person stands there mesmerized, intensely looking at the card trying to figure out what it all means! In that space of time I get the chance to talk to them and give my pitch. I never would have figured the design that I consider ugly would have that effect. I have learned that if I talk softly and gently, by the time they look up from the card I have their full and pliant attention.

I’ve also found it effective to ask them a couple of questions like “did you know this…?” or “have you heard of so and so…?”. Making a joke or laughing at one of their’s (and I’ve encountered a few quick wits out there) is the most effective. The only people that I’ve had refuse my card in over 50 handed out so far, are medical personnel. If the person seems really interested and strikes up a conversation, I’ll give them a couple of more cards to give to others.

I’m thinking about printing some pamphlets on two or three different subjects to accompany the cards to be handed out in front of stores or where people are congregated. I’ve even considered including some sort of small gift, like a keychain or something. When times were better, I used to find all sorts small items discarded by stores as surplus but alas, the economy is in decline now. I plan to devote entire days to just handing out cards and talking to people. One thing I won’t do is place cards under people’s windshield wipers, I’m only going to distribute by presenting to an actual person. I think it has a far greater effect.

My other blog: Justice for Jacqueline and Janessa Greig

September 9th was the fifth anniversary of the San Bruno gas pipeline explosion that killed (murdered) CPUC Gas Ratepayer Advocate Mrs. Jacqueline (Jackie) Greig and her thirteen year old daughter, Janessa. Mrs. Greig was the head of her department and was in charge of approving a 3.6 billion dollar rate increase proposal submitted by PG&E […]

Alan Wang (KGO Reporter) SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — PG&E is waiting to get hit with criminal charges. The federal government is expected to go after the utility for that pipeline disaster in San Bruno more than three years ago. The gas explosion was always a crime in the eyes of Gayle Masuno whose 87-year old […]

Well, I just finished the story about attending the Subcommittee meeting and I must say, it wasn’t easy. It was difficult for several reasons but most of them had to do with me being new to blogging, especially this particular template that you see here. Even though both of my blogs are on WordPress (which […]